


taboo words

by verdanthoney



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Board Games, First Kiss, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Pining, Taboo, sokka and zuko finish each others sentences
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-15
Updated: 2020-11-15
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:40:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,618
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27567631
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/verdanthoney/pseuds/verdanthoney
Summary: Sokka had no idea that a game of Taboo would lead to his undoing regarding his feelings for his best friend. But here he was.
Relationships: Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 69
Kudos: 428





	taboo words

**Author's Note:**

> hello lovely people, if you've never played taboo, i highly recommend it. this fic might be a little confusing if you've never played, but i tried my best to briefly explain the rules (or, sokka does lol). i hope you give this a chance <3 please please please leave me a comment, it would mean the world to me!
> 
> no beta we die like men
> 
> cw: swearing

Sokka loved game nights. They marked the end of a long week, a way for him and his closest friends to unwind with playful, competitive banter. Game nights were always held at Sokka’s apartment because he had the biggest living room. It allowed the six of them to spread out on the floor. Except for Zuko, who always sat right next to Sokka in their spot in front of the couch, a warmth against his side that was so distracting he sometimes couldn’t focus on their game of choice. He’d never ask Zuko to move away, though. Every game lost was worth the feeling of their skin brushing occasionally, the secret smiles and shy glances they would share throughout the night.

Tonight, they were playing a new game that he had found while shopping earlier in the week and bought on a whim. 

“It’s called Taboo,” he said to his circle of friends.

Toph snorted. “No offence, Snoozles, but that’s kind of a dumb name.”

He rolled his eyes at her despite the fact that she couldn’t see it. “Don’t judge a game by its name, Toph.” Under his breath, he muttered, “Hey, that rhymed,” and Zuko huffed in amusement next to him.

“Oh, I’ve played that before. It’s really fun!” Aang chimed in.

“ _Thank you_ , Aang. Now, let’s look at the rules…” His words trailed off as he opened the box and pulled out the little pamphlet with all of the rules on it. He took a moment to skim through it, nodding to himself until he finished. “Okay,” he began, holding up a card. “This is a clue-card. You have to find a way to describe the word at the top of the card without using any of the taboo words below it as clues. If you mess up, then the other team has to sound this buzzer and you have to try with a different card,” he said, pointing to the device in question.

“Did you remember to put batteries in the buzzer?” Katara asked.

Sokka shook his head sheepishly. “Uh, no. Could you go find some, oh great sister of mine?” he asked, batting his eyelashes obnoxiously. She rolled her eyes but complied nonetheless.

“Well, whoever is my partner is gonna have to be the clue-giver because I can’t read,” Toph stated bluntly.

“I’ll be your partner, Toph!” Suki wrapped her arm around Toph’s shoulders and squashed their cheeks together. Toph batted her away in fake annoyance and unsuccessfully hid her tiny, pleased grin.

As Katara returned with the batteries, Aang grabbed her hand and tugged her down to sit at his side. “I want Katara to be my partner,” he said, gazing over at her with that perpetually lovesick look on his face. She smiled at him with an equally sweet expression. It was gross, really. Sokka made a show of gagging at them and turned to Zuko.

“I guess that means you’re stuck with me!” he said, grinning at his friend. It was probably for the best that they were on the same team. They tended to be the most competitive out of the group, and sometimes their games got extra heated when they pit themselves against each other.

“I guess so,” Zuko murmured. He pushed his shoulder into Sokka’s and shot an easy smile back at him. His traitorous heart skipped a beat and he looked away before he did something unthinkable. Like kiss that smile. That, he figured, would be one way to ruin the night.

Pushing those thoughts away, he clapped his hands together. “Okay! Let’s say the first team to get through twenty cards wins, and that we get one minute to guess cards for each turn.” He opened up the clock app on his phone and set a timer for one minute. “Who wants to go first?” he asked.

“We will!” Aang cried. He shifted so he was sitting across from Katara instead of next to her so they wouldn’t be able to see the cards the other was holding. They discussed briefly who would be the clue-giver first before deciding Katara would do it. Suki sat behind Katara with the buzzer, ready to push it if she accidentally used a word she wasn’t supposed to. Sokka started the timer and the game began.

Katara and Aang fumbled through four cards before the timer went off. She slipped up a few times during that round. It was hard for her, not to describe something directly. She had always been one to get straight to the point. Sokka figured Aang would fare better as the clue-giver on their next turn; he was good at skirting around things.

Toph and Suki got through an impressive six cards when it was their turn. Suki didn’t mess up once. Typical.

When the pile of unused cards was pushed over to him, he shuffled away from Zuko and turned to face him, mourning the loss of him at his side all the while.

“Do you mind if I’m the clue-giver first?” he asked Zuko.

Zuko waved a hand. “Nah, go ahead.”

Sokka nodded and glanced behind him, where Aang had control of the buzzer. He looked excited, like he was waiting for Sokka to mess up just so he could press it. Well, that was too bad. He had another thing coming. Sokka had a feeling that he and Zuko would make a great team.

And he was _so_ right.

They worked like a well-oiled machine, getting through card after card without a hitch.

“I like to put this in my tea, and you hate it.”

“Honey.”

“Mhm. Uh, this one is your favorite animal.”

“Duck.”

“Yup,” Sokka said, grinning. He picked up another card. “Oh! I always wanted to get one of these, but my dad never let me becauseー”

“Sword,” Zuko said, chuckling.

“Yeah! Okay, next one…. Let’s see. I do this when I’m stressed and have extra cash toー”

“Shopping,” Zuko interrupted.

He blinked, surprised Zuko guessed that one so quickly with so little information. But the clock was ticking, so he grabbed the next card. “Yes. Um. You need these to read or you'll get a headache.”

“Glasses.”

“Uh huh.” He laughed when he saw the new card. “This is what you ordered from that restaurant downtown that gave you really bad food poisoning.”

Zuko winced and closed his eyes. “Ugh. Sushi.” Sokka nodded in answer.

“For this one, uh… I tried doing this on the table at Jet’s party last year when I was drunkー”

Zuko barked out a laugh, eyes filled with mirth as he looked at Sokka. “Dance.”

Sokka glanced at the timer. They only had ten seconds left. He babbled the first thing that came to mind for the last card, hoping Zuko would get it. “Fuck, um, you held mine when I got my ears pierced for the first time and I was scared it would hurt!”

“Hand,” Zuko said, laughing again at the memory. Then the timer went off, and it was over. They had managed to get through eight cards, the most out of each team for the first round. He took a deep breath, and glanced up at the rest of his friends, who were looking at them, slack-jawed.

“What?” he asked, confused.

“You....” Katara began, seeming lost for words. She shook her head and sighed. “Never mind. Let’s keep going.”

So they went again. Aang and Katara did better in the second round, as well as Toph and Suki. But neither team had reached the twenty cards that were required to win. And they were no match for Sokka and Zuko. Somehow, Zuko was able to come up with even more hyper specific descriptions than Sokka was, and lightning fast too.

“This is what you said I looked like when you saw that picture of my bad haircut.”

“An egg!”

“I punched one of these when I was younger and broke my hand.”

“Tree.”

“You think I’m good at this and eat everything I make for you.”

“Baking! Bake, whatever.”

“Um… you found the weird singing hippies in one of these when you were on a hike.”

“A cave. Ugh, why’d you have to remind me of that?”

“This is what that old lady in Uncle’s shop called you when you laughed so hard, you snorted tea out of your nose.”

“Rude.”

They went back and forth like that without pause until they added their twentieth card to their collection with half a second to spare on the clock. Sokka cheered, reaching forward and shaking Zuko’s shoulders, both of them grinning at each other. He turned to the others, ready to gloat, but saw that they were glaring at them instead of gaping like they had been after the first round.

“You two aren’t allowed to be on the same team anymore when we play this,” Katara stated, with no room to argue.

“Butー”

“Nope, no buts. You work too well together. It’s an unfair advantage.”

Sokka pouted. “Fine. Wanna be my partner for the next game?”

He’d be lying if he said he enjoyed the second game as much as the first. Katara didn’t _get him_ like Zuko did. Every time he tried to relate a word to a certain memory or very specific event, Katara just looked on in confusion or exasperation. He found himself stumbling through other ways to describe things that would make more sense to her (the way _normal_ people played, apparently), but more often than not that led to him using one of the taboo words, then someone would sound the buzzer, and he had to start over again. By the end of the game, which Toph and Zuko won, he realized a few things about himself.

  1. He somehow found a way to relate everything to Zuko.
  2. No one understood him better than Zuko did.



He let that information sink in as he helped pick up the cards, while everyone else made the decision to play a board game next. When there was nothing left to do with his hands, he leaned back against the couch and stared in blank detachment at his friend. His best friend. His best friend that he was very much in love with. Who was now looking at him with a concerned tilt of his head.

“You okay?” Zuko asked.

“Yeah, I just need some water,” he squeaked, leaping up and escaping to the safety of the kitchen. He braced his hands on the counter in front of the sink and wondered how he was supposed to get through the rest of the night and act normal. Briefly, he debated on faking sickness and retreating to his room, but that idea died when Katara entered the kitchen.

“Hey.”

He cleared his throat and set about getting a cup of water like he said he was going to. “Hey,” he replied tentatively.

She was silent for a moment, eyes trained on him as he filled his cup with tap water and avoided looking at her. He turned around and leaned against the counter, taking a careful sip.

“You need to tell him how you feel,” she finally said, never one to beat around the bush. Sokka choked on his water and wondered, distantly, why she had to wait until he had started drinking before she spoke.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he wheezed.

She leveled an unimpressed stare at him. “I’m serious.”

“Katara, you know I can’t just do that!”

“Why not?”

“Because,” he whisper-yelled, “he doesn’t feel the same way about me!”

She raised an eyebrow at him. “Really? You’re one-hundred percent certain about that?”

He rolled his eyes. They’d had this conversation several times already. How many times did he have to explain to her that Zuko would never want him? He wasn’t about to just confess his feelings and ruin their entire friendship _and_ the group dynamic all at once. He said as much to his sister, who shook her head at him.

“Sokka,” she began, tone gentle, “anyone with eyes can see that Zuko loves you. Toph is blind and even she can see it!” He chuckled wetly at the joke, annoyed that he was getting emotional over her words. Hope was a dangerous thing, and if he let himself have it, then he knew he would give in and tell Zuko how he felt. But he wasn’t quite there yet.

“How do you know?” he whispered.

“How do I know what?”

“That he loves me.”

Katara smiled. “Well, the way he looks at you, for one thing. It reminds me of how Aang looks at me. And you look at him the same way, too.”

“What else?”

“He talks about you all the time. Even when you’re not there. He understands all of the crazy stuff you say when no one else does. I mean, that’s what happened when we played Taboo. That’s how you guys won.”

Sokka gulped, his resolve beginning to crumble. Really, it had been crumbling for years. What she said next, however, was what broke it.

“You know I wouldn’t tell you this if I had any doubt in my mind that he doesn’t feel the same way. I wouldn’t get your hopes up like that. But I really think you have nothing to worry about, Sokka.”

He sagged against the counter and met her eyes. “Okay,” he said quietly. “Okay, fine. I’ll tell him.”

Katara’s face lit up and she threw her arms around his neck. He laughed as he hugged her back, a little breathless with the realization that he was finally going to confess to the feelings he’d been harboring for Zuko. He was scared, _terrified_ of what would happen, but he trusted his sister. If what she said was actually true, then maybe… maybe everything really would be okay.

They pulled apart when Toph yelled, “Snoozles! Sugar Queen! Get your asses back in here already!” Sokka grimaced at how loud she was, glancing up at the ceiling warily. His neighbors probably wouldn’t appreciate that.

Before they entered the living room, Katara grabbed his hand and squeezed it. “It’s gonna be okay. I promise,” she whispered. He smiled weakly at her and headed to his seat on the floor next to the source of his inner turmoil.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Zuko asked softly, handing over his favorite board game piece when he sat down. Their hands brushed when he grabbed it and he groaned internally at the heat he felt rising to his cheeks. 

All he could do was nod in response. By the way Zuko was looking at him, it was unconvincing. How was he supposed to tell Zuko he was in love with him when he was rendered speechless by a touch of their hands?

The rest of the night passed in a blur. He quietly stumbled through a couple more games, ignoring all of the concerned looks everyone was giving him (except for Katara, who was looking at him with an odd mix of amusement and pity). The only times he really spoke were to shush Zuko and Toph when they yelled in frustration over something in a game.

When snarky comebacks were replaced by yawns, everyone conceded that it was getting late and they should be heading home. Zuko pulled himself up from the floor and plopped on the couch, reaching for his hoodie that he had discarded on the back of it when he first arrived earlier that evening. Sokka snagged his wrist before he could get that far.

“Hey, do you maybe want to sleep over?” he rushed out before he could lose what little confidence he’d scrounged up.

Zuko thought for a moment, then nodded. “Sure, why not?”

Sokka let out a breath of relief. At least that part was over. Now, all he had to do was figure out a way to tell Zuko. Which was way, way easier said than done.

The rest of the group said goodbye to them at the door, Katara giving him one last tight hug and whispering words of encouragement in his ear. He tried his best to listen to her, to believe that the night wouldn’t end horribly for him. Though when he shut the door, and it was just him and Zuko left in his quiet apartment, he felt like he was approaching his doom as he walked back over to the couch. Zuko had since stretched out, shoulders against the armrest and long legs spanning the length of the couch. He was fiddling with the TV remote, but looked up when Sokka got closer.

“Wanna watch a movie? You can pick,” Zuko said, offering Sokka the remote with a hopeful smile.

It was stupid how much that smile had an affect on him. 

He sighed and took the remote, propping his hip against the armrest next to Zuko’s head and turning on the TV. Zuko leaned his head back until it bumped against Sokka’s leg and let it stay there. Sokka ignored the way his heart jumped at the touch in favor of putting on a documentary about the Arctic, one he, and by extension, Zuko, had watched several times before. He always watched it when he was homesick, but seeing Zuko’s face light up whenever a polar bear was on the screen was an added benefit.

He moved to the other side of the couch and put the remote down on the side table, shutting off the lamp and shrouding the room in darkness, except for the blue-white light coming from the TV. Zuko was taking up all the space on the couch, so Sokka just lifted his legs up and sat where they had been before dropping them into his lap. He pulled the knitted blanket that was folded neatly over the back of the couch and draped it onto Zuko’s legs. Zuko nudged him with his foot in thanks, but otherwise stayed silent. Now, the only sound filling the room was the narrator from the documentary, the volume on the TV turned down low. It made everything feel more intimate in the darkness of the room.

He tried to imagine how he would begin the conversation. _Hey, I’ve been in love with you pretty much since the moment I met you._ No, that was too much. Too forward. _Every time I look at you, I want to kiss you_. Okay. That was worse, somehow. _You know how I haven’t been able to stay in a relationship for more than a month at a time? Yeah, it’s because I can’t picture myself with anyone else besides you._ Fuck. He definitely wasn’t going to tell him that.

Thinking about what he should say to Zuko had him fidgeting nervously. He chewed on his nails and started to bounce his leg, but that didn’t last long when he realized that he was jostling Zuko’s legs too. Then he tugged his hair out of its ponytail, twirling his fingers around the strands with one hand and curling the other around the exposed skin of Zuko’s ankle where his sweatpants had ridden up. His skin felt hot against Sokka’s palm, and it was almost too much to touch it, but at the same time it was comforting. What if he wouldn’t be able to have this, after he told him? What if there would be no more casual touches and quiet moments between them?

He swallowed hard. The hand around Zuko’s ankle had unconsciously tightened while his thoughts spiraled, and he forced himself to relax. He could feel Zuko’s curious eyes on him but he refused to meet them, instead focusing on the documentary. That didn’t hold his attention for long, though, and he found his gaze drifting around the room listlessly as his mind wandered again.

The pile of games pushed against the wall caught his eye. It was too dark to see the writing on the boxes, but he knew which one was the box for Taboo. An idea bloomed in his mind. A stupid, cheesy idea, but an idea nonetheless. One that Zuko would hopefully like.

With a pounding heart and shaking hands, he turned towards Zuko and figured the best way to approach the situation would be to get closer. _Go big or go home_ , he thought, as he pushed the blanket away from Zuko’s lap and crawled until he was laying between his legs. Zuko made a startled noise and squirmed under his weight as Sokka got comfortable. His elbows rested on either side of Zuko’s ribs and he put his chin in both of his hands, staring down at his friend. Zuko glared up at him, and usually he enjoyed the constant intensity in those eyes, but in that moment it made his anxiousness more prominent.

“What are you doing?” Zuko asked, and _fuck_ , he sounded annoyed. Not a good start.

“I’m thinking of a word,” was all he said.

Zuko squinted at him. “Okay, and? That doesn’t explain why you’re on top of me.”

“I want you to guess it.”

“Like Taboo?”

“Yeah, exactly,” he replied, nodding vigorously.

“Sokka, we aren’t playing Taboo anymore. Why are youー”

“Just humor me! Please,” he begged. A crease appeared between Zuko’s eyebrows at the no doubt desperate, hysterical edge to his voice.

“Okay,” Zuko said softly. “C’mon. Hit me with a clue.”

Sokka wracked his brain for something that conveyed what he was trying to do without being too obvious. “Um. Well, you and Mai used to do this, when you were dating.” He paused and wrinkled his nose. “You and Jet did too, I guess.”

Zuko snorted. “What, fight? Argue?”

Sokka rolled his eyes. “Wrong.” What was happening? They were supposed to get it right on the first try, like they had when they played earlier. “Suki and I also did this.”

Now, Zuko just looked confused. “I don’t know, hold hands?”

Sokka huffed in annoyance. “Ugh, no! Well, yes, we did hold hands, but that’s not what I’m thinking of.” How was he supposed to make Zuko get it without explicitly stating it? He thought of Zuko’s last guess, _hold hands_ , and decided to take a risk. 

Without looking away from Zuko’s face, he reached down, fumbling for Zuko’s hand from where his arm was dangling limply off the couch. Zuko’s lips parted as he intertwined their fingers and pulled his arm up, folding it so their joined hands were resting next to his head on the couch. He was hyper aware of every point their bodies touchedーat their hands, their torsos, their legs. It made him dizzy.

“Will you give me another clue?” Zuko whispered, eyes darting rapidly over his face.

Sokka hummed, swaying closer into Zuko’s space until there were only a few scant inches between their lips. He glanced down at Zuko’s mouth and back up into his eyes, which seemed darker now as they tracked his movements. 

“Is this a good enough clue?” he teased, leaning in a little more. The way Zuko’s breath hitched nearly erased every doubt he’d had coming into this.

“Is it a kiss? Is the word kiss?” Zuko asked, eyes wide.

Sokka nodded. Their faces were so close now, the motion almost made their lips brush. “Can I kiss you?” he breathed.

Zuko’s answer was to pull his free arm out from where it was wedged between the couch cushion and their bodies, wind it around his waist, and pull him closer. Their lips slotted together, awkwardly at first, until Sokka tilted his head and they fit together just right. He felt Zuko exhale sharply, a hot puff of air against his cheek. Zuko’s hand traveled over his shoulders to the back of his neck, pushing him closer. His other hand was still intertwined with Sokka’s, who squeezed it gently. When Zuko squeezed back, he couldn’t help but smile against his lips.

Zuko pulled back, their lips making a smacking sound as they separated. “What’s so funny?”

“Nothing,” he laughed. “I’m just happy. I wasn’t expecting this to turn out so well.”

“Did you plan this? Is that why you were acting so weird tonight?” Zuko asked. He sounded suspicious.

“Sort of. I didn’t plan on kissing you until a few minutes ago, but I asked you to sleep over so I could tell you that Iー” he cut himself off, eyes widening when he realized that sure, they had kissed, but what if Zuko didn’t mean it? Was it too soon, to tell him that he loved him?

“That you what?”

Sokka gulped, the nervousness he was feeling earlier climbing back up his throat. He tried to turn his head away, but Zuko slid the hand that was on his neck down to his jaw and pulled his face back.

“Hey. Whatever it is, you can tell me. I bet it’s not as bad as you think it is,” Zuko murmured, a gentle smile on his face. Sokka remembered how many times that night he’d wanted to kiss Zuko’s smile, and realized that it would probably be okay to do it now. So he did. He pressed his lips to Zuko’s again for a few quick pecks that brought a pretty blush to the apples of his cheeks. Sokka pulled away, content. Really, he had nothing left to lose. They’d already kissed, so what was the harm in laying himself completely bare?

“I wanted to tell you that I, uh… I’m in love with you. And I have been. For a long time. That’s why I asked you to stay.”

Zuko blinked up at him, seeming shocked. Even though he was laying down, he went completely boneless and slumped back into the couch. “Oh, Sokka,” he sighed. “I love you too. You have to know that.”

“Well, I do now,” he said, trying for a joke. It sounded weak to his own ears, and if the way Zuko was looking at him was any indication, it didn’t quite land. Zuko tilted his head up and gave him another kiss instead of replying.

They settled into a comfortable silence. Sokka ran his thumb back and forth over Zuko’s hand. Both of their palms felt sweaty now, but he didn’t want to let go just yet.

“I can’t believe you made your move on me using Taboo,” Zuko said, breaking the quiet.

Sokka scoffed. “Oh, like you didn’t enjoy it.”

“Why would you bring up both of our exes when you were trying to get me to kiss you?” Zuko asked, snickering at him.

“ _Shut up_ ,” Sokka groaned, dropping his forehead to Zuko’s chest, which was jumping with laughter. He shuffled down the couch more and lowered all of his weight onto Zuko, turning his head so his ear was pressed against Zuko’s sternum and he could see the TV. He watched as an Arctic fox pounced into the snow, but he wasn’t listening to the narrator drone on about it. Instead, the sound of Zuko’s slow and steady heartbeat lulled him into a trance.

He whined when Zuko unlaced their fingers to reach over and drape the blanket over both of them, resting his hands on Sokka’s biceps when he was done. Sokka shivered as Zuko’s fingers traced random patterns onto his skin.

So, Katara had been right all along. He would have to send her a text to thank her. But that could wait until tomorrow. Right now, he was going to bask in the overwhelming feeling of relief and elation that everything turned out fine. More than fine, really. 

Eventually, the documentary ended, and they moved to Sokka’s room. And if Sokka tried making Zuko guess some choice words as they got tangled up in his sheets, wellーthat was all taboo.

**Author's Note:**

> im so sorry if they were out of character in this, it was honestly just self-indulgent nonsense. oops <3  
> also im dumb and still have no idea how to fix the stupid spacing around italics lmao


End file.
